Disappointed in Loan Originators and Loan Processors Offices

[Bmore926]

Now that I have found this community forum, and I am reading all the other frustrated user reviews, I am not so surprised that my experience with USAA's mortgage department has been so frustrating and disappointing. I'm only part way through the process, and now I'm worried that they are only going to keep messing up (delayed closing date, making more mistakes, etc) and make my life and the homebuying more stressful than it needs to be. 

Even before we started the official application, I was caling for information about the qualification process and different financing options. Different people had different answers to the same questions, which was confusing and frustrating. Once we got the application started, we found out our loan originator mis-spelled the address of the home on the application package. This was only the beginning of the mistakes that he'd made. We tried contacting him by phone and by USAA email for two days. And when I tried to get in touch with someone else in the office to at least give my verbal Intent to Proceed, in addition to fixing the address spelling, my call could only be forwarded to his desk. I called several times, trying various ways to just get to any one who could help. Even the operator said she was stumped and had to give me a phone number that was not part of USAA's call system to be able to reach the loan originator's boss. Of course this person didn't pick up either, but I left a voicemail. The next day, the loan originator had mysteriously disappeared and we got a new loan originator to deal with the address mistake and our verbal Intent to Proceed. There was zero explanation as to what happened with the first guy, and also no apology for the multiple days of delay and inconvenience. Then, the new woman helped a bit, but seemed incapable of answering any questions about the closing cost fees (which were much higher than originally estimated) and incapable of clearly explaining the next steps in the process. Thankfully, we were quickly transferred away from this Loan Originator to a Loan Processor. At this point, almost 3 weeks after we started the application! The Loan Processor seems better than the first two people, but they have been finding more mistakes in the application. The Loan Originators were even more messy than we thought! The sale of contract was filed incorrectly, and details about our past employment, current income, and more were incomplete or not written out clearly, even though we spent hours with the Loan Originator explaining every detail of our lives from the past two years! The Loan Processor is trying to correct this, but I still don't feel truly secure in their hands either. First, I have had to be in contact with two different Processors, making communication confusing and disjointed. Second, they have been asking for things that they could figure out themselves, like pulling information from my USAA accounts. It's frustrating that they seem to be poor problem solvers, or seem to have difficulty just reading my application thoroughly enough to provide a personalized, practical, and smooth application process.

As a member with USAA for the past 10 years, I had very high hopes, but it seems the mortgage department at USAA does not function as the same high level as other departments. I do not believe it's my job to be on top of the every mortgage department employee to be detail-oriented, accurately type the information provided, and read the documents in front of them. Maybe I would read over their shoulder if I could physically stand over there at a bank branch, but I can't--So, I should be able to trust you all to do your job. It doesn't have to perfect every single second, but I think I should at least feel like you are trying to do things well and if you don't, I should get an apology for you making lots of mistakes or asking me for things that you don't need to ask me for and waste more of my time with. My partner's bank MECU offers lower rates, but I would hate to change directions now that we are so deep into the process with USAA. I hope that USAA will do something immediately to convince me to stay with them.

[Taspole]

I'm sure your situation will be forwarded to someone for review, but although loyalty is admirable and a hallmark of USAA members, to have poor communication as well as find out you will be paying more than you believed you would be is a very bad omen. This is the biggest purchase a person makes.

Check MECU out (is it local?), you have nothing to lose, and you will be giving yourself options whether to stay or move on. Your loan is sold anyway once it is complete.

Avoid the stress of having to stay on top of every step of the process rather than be guided through it. Within 1 week you'll know what is the right thing to do.

Regardless, when you call your processor, you have the right to expect a prompt response. Do not accept anything less. Follow your gut!

[Angela Caban USAA]

Bmore926,

I am saddened to hear of your frustration, and I would like to get someone in touch with you to help. I have escalate this over to our mortgage team and someone will be contacting you directly. Please let me know if there is anything I can help with, keep me posted on the outcome. Thank you for posting in community.

[whcressall]

I can corroborate that USAA mortgage application and approval process was and is a disaster. While I was able to close on my home AND move in, this is due entirely to my own efforts and that of my realtor. Far from helping, USAA seemed incapable of taking or recording even the most basic address and financial information (my old address, employment and income info are still recorded incorrectly as of this date). Further, the closing officers at USAA operate exclusively in a "don't call us - we'll call you" atmosphere. I routinely had to track down supervisors and ultimately the head the department to get even the smallest tasks accomplished.

Calls from the escrow attorney and realty company went unanswered. Critical, deal-ending information was either handed in late by USAA or often never sent. At one point, after having the closing date pushed back twice, a rush document to be prepared by USAA was placed on the desk of an employee who was on vacation - and there was no follow-up. My realtor said that they knew USAA was a nightmare and that they are often avoided by realty companies because of the consistent difficulty in dealing with them.

In the end, to close, I had to deal directly with the head of closing. Spoke with him hourly and still USAA was late on the closing deal AND STILL got the closing amount wrong. The seller was gracious and agreed to accept cash on the table for the difference. Which I paid. For my trouble the head of closing asked for a full debrief and description of my issues once the deal was made. I agreed and then attempted to contact him two weeks after moving in. I was unable to reach the man and he refused to return my calls. Through all this I was never anything but polite and helpful when dealing with any of the USAA staff and management. I never raised my voice. I comported both my speech and my needs in a civil and professional manner. In return I was given service far below sub-par.

From my interaction with USAA mortgage I can state with some authority that USAA mortgage has no desire to grow as a company. They are happy with the customer base and business they currently have. I would never recommend USAA’s mortgage service to anyone and I have gone out of my way to ensure that anyone I know in the home buying process strongly consider a local solution and avoid USAA if at all possible. While the product that USAA offers is very attractive (interest and payment options) the degree of work required on the front end to coerce USAA to reach closing far outweighs these benefits. I can sum up their efforts on my behalf as simply tragic.

[Angela Caban USAA]

whcressall,

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I have sent along your comment to our mortgage department for review. If there is anything they are able to assist you with, they will reach out to you directly. Thank you.

[whcressall]

I apreciate your prompt reply but honestly, they had their opportunity for a dialog and refused to enguage. Best I can do is warn others - which I freequently do. I closed and now own my own home. I really have no more use for the USAA mortgage department.

[TN guy in OH]

My wife and I are in a similar situation. We are supposed to close on our home in 5 days but are likely to miss that date due to the incompetence of the USAA mortgage department. This company has missed every target date throughout this process. Keep in mind, these are dates that they gave us, not ones we set. My wife has submitted required documents within hours after requested. Our assigned USAA representative went on PTO for two weeks in the middle of our loan process and someone else was to manage our account. Evidently nothin was done during that two week period except for an email that was sent to my wife which incorrectly informed her that a document was not needed. That was on July 22. August 10, our rep requested that same document. This will likely push our closing date. I forgot to include the fact that the seller has the option to back out of the contract at this time because USAA has failed to provide financing within the time specified in the contract. I will never use USAA for a mortgage again. I should have known that the service would be less than desirable when I read the paperwork informing us that USAA sells home loans.

[Angela Caban USAA]

TN guy in OH,

Thank you for posting in the community. I have sent your comments over to our mortgage department for review. Someone will be in touch with you directly. Thank you.